It says Eritrean secondary education is conscription machine that subjects students to forced labour, physical abuse.
9 Aug 2019
![HRW says President Afwerki has not reformed education system that conscripts students into government service [File: Feisal Omar/Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2019/8/9/049925d0026e406384a3696ffe49cf27_18.jpg?resize=449%2C252&ssl=1)
An 87-page report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday portrays Eritrean secondary education as a conscription machine that subjects students to forced labour and physical abuse as they are groomed for indefinite government service.
Despite a peace deal with Ethiopia in July 2018, which inspired hope for reform, the government – headed by President Isaias Afwerki since 1993 – has not enacted meaningful changes in the system, the report said.
The Horn of Africa country, home to nearly 4.5 million people, has previously been condemned by the United Nations for abuses that include extrajudicial killings, torture and slave-like conditions for citizens.
The Global Slavery Index estimates that 93 out of every 1,000 citizens are living in a form of modern slavery in Eritrea, which it ranked second-worst in the world.